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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28897692">Reunited, And It Feels So Good</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/NUMBER1ANGIRL/pseuds/NUMBER1ANGIRL'>NUMBER1ANGIRL</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>We Keep This Love In A Photograph [4]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Jason Grace is a Good Friend, Set 10 years after PJO, but during HoO</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 09:54:34</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,229</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28897692</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/NUMBER1ANGIRL/pseuds/NUMBER1ANGIRL</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>The seven are back at Camp Halfblood, Leo is apparently dead, and Percy and Annabeth just took off down the hill. </p><p>Jason just wants to sleep and cry. Not particularly in that order.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Annabeth Chase &amp; Grover Underwood, Annabeth Chase &amp; Jason Grace, Annabeth Chase/Percy Jackson, Jason Grace &amp; Percy Jackson, Percy Jackson &amp; Grover Underwood</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>We Keep This Love In A Photograph [4]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2107947</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>102</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Reunited, And It Feels So Good</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>I know it’s been a while, but I wrote this a few days ago, and I hated everything about it. Last night I deleted the middle, end, and some of the beginning. I hope you enjoy 😭</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>The group stand on the crest of the hill, the scars of battle, and sorrow from their losses still incredibly fresh. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hazel leans on Frank, tears in her eyes as the others look away from them. Leo wasn’t with them, and that weighed on all of their hearts. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jason blinks a few times, his breath catching in his throat. </span>
  <em>
    <span>It should have been me</span>
  </em>
  <span>, he thinks. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Piper was standing next to him, her arms folded over her chest, and shaking her head in disbelief. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jason clears his throat, and takes in the rest of his friends. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nico was hugging Hazel, her head tucked underneath his chin. Reyna was sitting on a bench, staring down at her knees. She was a lot like him. She was taught to not show weakness. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Frank had walked over to Percy and Annabeth like a wounded dog, and the blonde woman had brought him into a hug. Percy just looked exhausted, leaning himself against his wife’s shoulder. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“This can’t be real.” Piper whispers, making Jason whirl around to face her. “It just can’t be.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He wraps an arm around her, and she buries her face into his shoulder. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s okay.” He tells her, though he doesn’t really believe what he’s saying. “It’s all over.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And then, just because the gods love to screw him over, a screech breaks their precarious silence. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Percy!” It sounded kind of like a dying animal that could speak. Which, honestly, isn’t too abnormal at this camp. “Annabeth!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jason watches Percy. He sees his eyes widen, the way that he grasps Annabeth on the shoulder. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She pulls away from Frank, and they share a look that Jason can’t quite discern. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Is that-“ Percy starts to say. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Annabeth looks at him with wide eyes, and without further notice, they start running. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jason tenses, sharing looks with everyone else. They all look so tired. So sad. Jason puts a hand up, thankful for the distraction. “I’ll follow them.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And, with that, he takes after the couple, his glasses slipping down his nose in the heat. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Annabeth was moving at a speed that Jason had never seen. Percy wasn’t too far behind her. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Even though Jason was in peak shape, he was having a hard time catching up with them. His lungs kind of hurt with how much air he was inhaling. </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Is there another attack? Someone in trouble? </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>He ran down the hill, moving past a bunch of campers that were staring in confusion at his reckless abandon of anyone but Percy and Annabeth. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>And then, at the bottom of the hill, Jason saw what they were running to. Or, at least where he assumed they were running to, since the person standing there was the only one not dodging the crazed adults. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>There stood a satyr with curly hair, holding… was that a doll?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jason slows down, furrowing his eyebrows. His side kind of hurts as he slows down. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Annabeth reached the satyr first, and grabbed the doll, pressing it to her chest, and cupping it’s head with her chin. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Percy put a hand on the satyr’s shoulder, and pulled him into a bone crushing hug. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jason takes a step closer, and feels air rush out of his lungs.  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Why, you may ask?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Because, upon further inspection, what Annabeth was holding wasn’t a doll at all. It was a baby. A living, breathing baby. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>A girl, with flowing, curly black hair, held back by a headband with a green bow on top. She wore a blue, grey polka dotted onesie and a sea foam green tutu. As Jason moved forward, he could make out the grey eyes that she could have only gotten from one person, if the level of intimidation she displayed was anything to go by. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The baby was smiling, leaning her head against Annabeth’s collar bone. She kept babbling, “Momma, momma!”. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Annabeth finally pulls away, and hands the child over to Percy. If the little girl had been happy to see Annabeth, she practically </span>
  <em>
    <span>glowed</span>
  </em>
  <span> when she caught sight of the man. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Daddy!” She screams. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jason could’ve sworn he saw tears come to Percy’s eyes. He hadn’t even seen Percy shed a tear when he escaped Tartarus. The blonde boy turns away, as if he was looking at an intimate moment. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Instead, he focuses on Annabeth hugging the satyr. A satyr that he now recognized from photos and his dreams as their friend, Grover. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Annabeth moves closer to Percy, wrapping him and the girl in a hug. Then they pull Grover into the hug. A circle with that little girl floating in the middle. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The four of them were wrapped in their own little bubble. Jason stands there, on the outside looking in. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>And then, Jason sneezes, ruining their perfect little moment like the doofus he was. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Annabeth pulls away, and makes eye contact with the boy, her eyes wide. Percy, still wrapped in Grover’s arms, tilts his head at Jason, lifting the child up higher. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Um… hi.” Jason murmurs lamely, waving his hand. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hi!” The little girl yells, raising her own hand. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>And even though there was something dark and broken in his chest, Jason cracks a smile. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Jason,” Annabeth says softly. “This is Zoe. She’s our... daughter.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>For some reason, her saying it didn’t sound weird. It sounded oddly right, even though the thought had never even crossed his mind. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jason steps forward, and looks down at the girl. “Hi, Zoe.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She gives him a radiant grin. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why didn’t you say anything?” Jason questions, looking imploringly at the parents. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Grover worries at his lip, and gently pries Zoe from Percy’s arms. “I’ll just give you three a moment alone. We’ll be in your cabin.” He directs that last part at Percy, before giving Jason a small, tight lipped smile. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Annabeth and Percy both look longingly into the distance before making eye contact with the younger boy. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Look… we just didn’t want this to change anything. We were all going on this quest. We were all giving things up… we thought it would be easier if you guys didn’t know…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Just how much you were giving up.” Jason whispers, biting his lip. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Percy rifles through his back pocket, and pulls out a Polaroid. “It wasn’t easy. It’s still not easy. But we had something to fight for. We </span>
  <em>
    <span>still </span>
  </em>
  <span>have something to fight for.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jason makes out an image of Zoe sitting up, leaning against the front of two big paws. Mrs. O’Leary was too big to fully fit in the photo. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Look,” Annabeth says softly. “Do you think… you could keep this between us before we tell the others.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jason bites his lip, but nods. “You got it. Now… go see your kid!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Percy and Annabeth look relieved as they run away. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jason couldn’t help smile. Everything felt wrong. Nothing felt good. But, inexplicably, he was smiling. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He smiles as he goes back with his friends, waving off their confusion. He sits by the fire with that dumb grin, and the next day as Percy and Annabeth hold their daughter out to the rest of the group. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Because, despite all that he lost, he thought that something could be nice. Some things were worth fighting for. Some things could be repaired. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>And he holds that thought with him as closely as Percy held onto that Polaroid. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Like a photo tucked into a pocket in his heart. </span>
</p>
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